You are here

News

Professor (Emeritus) Sally Walker AM conducted the review. Professor Walker is a distinguished lawyer and a highly experienced and respected university administrator, having served as Vice-Chancellor and President of Deakin University from 2003 – 2010 and before that Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.

The review found that the ANU is a highly successful university, consistently ranking among the top universities in Australia and the world, and that there is much about the governance of the ANU that is exemplary.

The review report makes 29 recommendations aimed at further strengthening the university’s governance arrangements and ensuring that its legislative arrangements will allow the Council to govern effectively into the future.

The Government is considering Professor Walker’s recommendations as it works towards ensuring that the ANU is a standard bearer for governance in the Australian higher education...

Ministers from across the country came together at the William Angliss Institute in Melbourne to continue the dialogue on the skills reform agenda agreed in April 2014. More information can be found here:

The establishment of the Committee delivers on the commitment made by Commonwealth and state and territory skills ministers last year to streamline governance arrangements and put industry at the centre of the vocational education and training (VET) system. The new Committee will provide advice to governments on VET policy and give industry a stronger voice in the vocational education and training system, to help ensure it is efficient and effective in delivering the job-ready workers that industry needs. It will take on some of the work of the dissolved National Skills Standards Council.

The Apprenticeship Network will make it easier for employers to recruit, train and retain apprentices and trainees with the ultimate aim of improving Australian Apprenticeships completion rates.

The Apprenticeship Network introduces innovative new targeted services which will deliver tailored advice and support to Australian Apprentices and employers who need additional assistance prior to sign-up and in-training.

Employers will receive more efficient help in navigating the apprenticeships system while individuals will be better assisted to complete their training.

Improving completion rates means more Australians will get to realise the full benefits of an apprenticeship, and the rewarding careers that come as a result.

The eight winners of the 2015 Simpson Prize, one from each state and territory, are travelling to Gallipoli for the ANZAC Centenary commemorations on 25 April 2015.

Winners and runners-up visited national institutions in Canberra in March 2015. They attended a presentation ceremony at Parliament House on 16 March 2015, where they were presented with medallions and certificates by the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC, Senator the Hon Michael Ronaldson (on behalf of the Minister for Education and Training, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP).

The 2015 Simpson Prize Awards video features comments from some of the students.

For winner and runner-up essays and more information on the 2016 Simpson Prize topic, visit www.simpsonprize.org

On 21 April 2015, the Assistant Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, announced the new model for Training Product Development for Australian Industry.

This new model demonstrates the Government’s commitment to training that is high quality and that delivers real skills for jobs. It is also further evidence of the Government’s commitment to industry leadership and smaller government.

To support Australia’s economic prosperity, the national training system needs to be more responsive to industry need and flexible for employers of all sizes and across all sectors.

The results of the survey present a positive snapshot of the experiences of international students who have chosen to study in Australia.

Presently Australia is the fifth most popular international study destination behind the USA, UK, Germany and France. The top reasons for choosing Australia, identified as important or very important by over 90% of higher education student respondents, were:

The Assistant Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon Simon Birmingham, today announced the Government will deliver a rolling campaign of legislative and other changes this year to deal with rogue training providers and better protect students taking out VET FEE-HELP loans.

The new measures will:

Stop training providers from offering incentives to students, like cash and laptops, to get them to sign up to courses that they don’t need

Stop marketing agents and brokers ‘freelancing’ to sign up as many students as possible, without being covered by any regulator

In May 2013, the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee released its inquiry report: Teaching and Learning – maximising our investment in Australian schools.

The Government’s response conveys the government’s commitment to improving teacher quality. Many of the Committee’s recommendations overlap with the work of the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group, which will identify priorities for actions to improve teacher education along with suitable implementation timeframes.

The Australian Government report to the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee:

As part of its Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda, the Australian Government will develop and implement a strategy to improve Australia’s economic performance through better translation of research into commercial outcomes.

Better translation of research into commercial outcomes will help drive innovation in Australia, grow successful Australian businesses and research capacity, and boost productivity and exports. It aligns with the Government’s measures to reform the higher education sector and to realise the potential of health and other research.

The Government is looking for input from the research sector and industry on the discussion paper. The deadline for submissions has been extended until 5 December 2014 at midnight AEDT.

The final report from the Review of the Australian Curriculumwas released in October 2014. The review evaluated the robustness, independence and balance of the process and development of the Australian Curriculum.

The Review makes 30 key recommendations, which will need to be examined by all Australian education ministers before any action is taken.

The Australian Government has also released an initial response to the Review of the Australian Curriculum’s Final Report.

Links to the Final Report, the Australian Government’s initial response and the supplementary material are available here:

The Australian Government’s $70 million Independent Public Schools (IPS) initiative will improve the capacity of school leaders and communities within South Australian government schools to make their own decisions.

Between 2014 and 2017, South Australia will receive $5.53 million in federal funding.